James h



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. FERGUSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

HOLDER FOR FILES OR BOOKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,258, dated December 11, 1888.

Application filed August 4, 1888. Serial No. 281,955. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs H. FERGUSON, of the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Holders for Files or Books, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of the improvement is to provide a convenient holder in which files or books may be easily placed and secured, and from which they may be removed with facility, and which will also facilitate the handling or manipulation of the files or books placed therein and protect the same from injury while so placed.

l will proceed to describe t-he invention with reference to the drawings, and afterward point out the novel features in claims.

In the drawings, Figure l represents a perspective view of a partially-open file or book holder embodying my improvement Eig. 2 represents a perspective view of the said improved iile or book holder wide open, with a iile placed and secured therein. Fig. 3 represents an end edge view, and Eig. 4 a front edge view corresponding to Fig. 2, in which the holder and iile are closed.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A A designate stiif iiaps connected to each other by a iieXible back, B, similar to the flaps and back of an ordinary book-cover.

C C O O are four looped or grooved metal strips, which may be formed of metal bent, looped, or grooved to give the looped or grooved form of transverse section represented in the drawings. The said metal strips C are permanently attached to the inside of the flapsone near each end of a iiap and at rightangles to the front and back edges of said flapsto receive and hold the projecting end edges of file or book cover or covering-leaves of files or books to be placed in the holder.

D D are frictionally and pivotally jointed toggle arms or plates connecting the flaps A at a distance from the flexible back to hold said iiaps open, closed, or partially open, as desired. Each of the said toggle-arms is represented in the drawings as connected with a flap A by attaching it to one of the grooved metal strips C, which is permanently secured to the flap. The toggle-arms must be frictionally connected to each other and to t-he strips or aps, as by riveting the same by rivets a to each other or to the strips C so tightly as to cause the friction required for the purpose above set forth. A rule-joint or stop-joint may be formed of the joint b, by which the toggle arms are connected with each other, by forming projections c on said arms, which will collie in contact with each other when the toggle-armsare spread out to a straight line, and prevent the ends of the arms from being forced below that straight line. The arms so straightened out will hold the covers firmly open.

Thefile E (represented in Figs. 2, 3, and i) is of a kind in common use, and has numerous pockets, usually marked consecutively with the letters of the alphabet, for receiving and holding papers or letters assorted and distributed in the several pockets for future reference in accordance with the letters by which the several pockets are designated, said pockets being formed by and between consecutive leaves CZ and gussets e. rlhe outer leaves, d d', of the lile E are thicker and stiffer than the intermediate leaves, and the end edges of the said outer leaves, d', being pushed down into the grooves or loops of the metal strips C, will be held therein by the friction of the said edges in the grooves, and will retain the file E in the holder until removed, and will permit it to be removed with facility.

In an ordinary book cover the points or parts `at each end, where the iiexible back and the flaps are joined, corresponding to the points or parts f in Eig. l, are yielding, and will permit the ends of the book-covers to be inserted into the grooves of the metal strips G, and if the distance apart of the said strips corresponds with the length of the book-covers the book can be thus secured in the holder, and any book of suitable dimensions may be placed or removed from the holder with facility.

Vhat l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The iile or book holder herein described, consisting of the two stiff iiaps and the flexible back connecting said flaps, the four looped or grooved metallic strips attached to inside of iiaps near their ends to receive and hold projecting end edges of a le or book cover or IOO :ro jecting end edges of a le or book cover or covering-leaves, and the two piVotally-jointed toggle-arms connecting said deps at a distance from the back and provided with stops to hold said flaps open when spread to a straight line, substantially as specified.

JAMES l-l. FERGUSON.

Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, MINERT LINDEMAN. 

